Means for cleaning gas-flues.



W.l B. CELAPMAN.' Y MEANS FOR GLENING GAS FLUES. y APPLICATION FILEDJAN.14, 1907. RENEWD FB 28, 1910.

Patented 0ct.25,191'o.

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5- Mex Arron/v5? y f UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM B. CHAPMAN, OF YORK,` N. Y., ASSIGNOR T0 WALTER'B. HOPPING,

TRUSTEE, OF NEW YORK, N. Y.

Spcication of Letters Patent.

Patented 01115.25, 1910.

Application nleaaenuary 14, 1907, serie1N0.352,139. Renewed February 2s,'1910.` serial No. 546,549.

To all 'whom t 'may concern:

Be it known that I, I/VLLLIAM vB. CHAP- MAN, of the borough of Brooklyn,city. and State of New York, have invented certain new and usefulImprovements in Means for Cleaning Gas-Flues, of which the following isa full, clear, and exact speciHcatiom'such as will enable others skilledin the art to which it appertains to make and use the same.

My invention relates to a means for re- `moving soot, tar and similarcarbonaceous accumulations from gas Hues, particularly Hues connectinggas producers with furnaces or other apparatus for employing the gas. Inthe practical operation of such plants the soot accumulates rapidly andit has heretofore been the practice to shut down the `plant at definiteperiods for the purpose of burning, scraping and performing otheroperations in the Hue to remove the soot therefrom.

The principal object of my invention is to eHect the removal of the sootand like accumulations without interruptingthe operation of the plant,the removal of the soot taking place at the same time that the gas isHowing through the tube to the point of consumption. I attain this endby introducing jets of air, steam or other Huidunder pressure into theHue and within the body of soot therein thus raising the soot in acloud, the air current which is thus created picking up the particles ofsoot and carrying them through the Hue and out-of the same. By thuscreating a fluid current in the Hue which moves in the same direction asthe gas current and supplements the same, I am enabled to set up acontinuous movement of the soot, toward the furnace or other apparatusto which the gas is fed, which current serves to carry the soot into thefurnace or other apparatus without interfering in any manner with thecontinuous operation of the plant. This is of great importance since itprevents the necessity of shutting down a plant for the purpose ofcleaning the Hues and thus avoids material loss, particularly in largeestablishments where interruption in the operation of the plant for sixor twelve hours involves a general* sus-` pension of business andconsequent loss.

My invention also involves improved de- I vices for introducing the Huidat different the Hue.

For the purpose of a specific disclosure of my invention reference ishad to the accompanying drawing .which illustrates, as an example, onemanner in which my invention may be put into practice and in which draw-Figure 1 is a Vertical sect-ion of a typical plant involving a gasproducer and Hue lead-l ing from the producer to a furnace or othermeans for consuming the gas; Fig. 2 is a detail section of one of thecasings which are fitted in the Hue to receive the jet pipe, the line ofsection being that indicated at 2-2 of Fig. 3; Fig. 3 is a section onthe line 3 3 of Fig. 2; Fig. 4t is a detail view showing one of the jetpipes and the sphere thereon for eHecting a joint between thejet pipeand the walls of the Hue; and Fig. 5 is a similar view showing a slightmodification.

In the drawing, 10 indicates 'the producer or other source of gas. TheHue is shown as being composed of an upright vertical Hight 11a, ahorizontal Hight 1 1", a down draft vertical Hight 11c and a horizontalHight 11d running along the level of the ground or Hoor on which theproducer is placed. The

gasHue passes to the furnace or other apparatus, the position of whichis indicated at 12 in Fig. 1. In the operation of the plant,accumulations of soot, tar and likecarbonaceous substances will formalongvthe horizontal flights of the Hue as indicated by the broken lines14: in Fig. 1. The soot will also accumulate in the vertical flights ofthe Hue, but not to that extent which it accumulates in thek horizontalflights. The gas passes continuously through the Hue and this continuousmovement .of the gas is necessary to the operation of the plant. Inorder to remove the sooty accumulations without interrupt-ing Ithe Howof 'gas I introduce into the body of the soot-and air, steam or otherHuid current which breaks up the body of the soot, and at the same timesets up the strong current flowing toward the furnace, in which currentthe particles of soot are suspended and carried bodily through the flue.This current of air or other fluid flows with the gas current and theforce of the two currents together is sufficient to carry along thesoot. This, it will be observed, does not interfere With the movement ofthe gas and thus allows the operation of the plant to be continuous.This current of compressed air, steam or other fluid may be introducedinto the flue by various means and my invention is not limited to thedevices which are employed for this purpose. I prefer, however, toemploy the jet pipes 15 heretofore inentioned. Each of these jet pipeshas a connection 1G with a hose or other flexible pipe indicated at 17in Fig. 1 and each jet pipe is also provided with a handle 18 tofacilitate its manipulation. Fitted loosely on each jet pipe 15 is aspherical closure 19 which has a tapered opening 19a through it,allowing the pipe to be operated in the closure Within a certain arcWithout rocking the closure itself. The sliding' movement-of the closureon the pipe is confined by the connect-ion 16 on one side and a collar2O on the opposite side.

`These jet pipes may be of various forms; I

prefer, however, to bend or offset their ends as indicated at 15a in thedrawings, which enables me to enter them readily into the soot beds.Also in certain positions of use, as indicated for example, at 15b atthe right hand extremity of Fig. 1, the jet pipes may be so bent thatportions Will stand at substantially right angles to each other. In factthe shape of these pipes may be varied Within a Wide range, to the endthat the air or other fluid current may be eifectually entered into thebed of soot to break up the lame and carry it in suspension through theIn order to introduce the et pipes into the flue With facility, I formopenings 21 in the fire brick liningof the flue in which openings areplaced casings 22 held in place by riveting to the sheet metal iiuecovering, the rivet openings being shown at 23. Formed in said castings22 are openings 22a; and the sheet metal covering of the flue is formedWith openings 24E matching the openings 22a. Said openings 22a and 24are adapted to receive the plugs 25 When the jet pipes are not in use,and When the plugs 25 are removed the jet pipes may be projected throughthe openings 2Q and the spherical closures 19 set against the Wallsofthe same. It Will thus be seen that by removing any one of the plugs25 a jet tube may be inserted. Then thus inserted the closure 19prevents leakage of gas and the jet pipe may be moved to variouspositions as indicated by the broken lines in Fig. 1 Without disturbingthe closure.

In the practical operation of the invention a number of jet pipes Willbe provided. This number, however, need not be as great as the number ofopenings in the flue. Under ordinary conditions the operator shouldbegin to remove thevsoot by Working from the producer end. One of thejet pipes having the bend 15b may, if desired, be inserted through oneof the peek holes of the producer as indicated in Fig. 1 and another maybe inserted in the vertical flue 11". The air or steam current thusintroduced breaks up the soot into dust which is almost, if not quiteimpalpable and which is readily suspended in the current of air and gasand carried on through the flue. The operator continues Working towardthe furnace end and the soot is steadily advanced to the furnace. ItWill seem that this method has the further advantage of saving the heatvalue of the soot which by my process passes into the furnace and isthere consumed. If the movement of the soot through the flue started, asdescribed, at the producer end should cause the soot to clog in the fluetoward or near the furnace end, the operation may be advanced to thepoint at which the flue clogs and this excess blovvn out, after whichthe operator may return to the point near the producer and continue theoperation in the regular manner described. The process of course, is notlimited to the point at which the air or steam current is first applied;this may be at any point along the length of the flue according to theconditions of the plant. The essential idea is the breaking up of a bodyof soot by an air, steam or other Huid current, which at the same timeestablishes a fluid current through the flue and Which with the gascarries oi2 the particles of soot Without interfering with the gasmovement through the flue, and thus Without interrupting the operationof the plant of Which the flue forms a part.

While air may be used in my process with good results, I prefer to usesteam for the reason that With steam there Will be no burning of thesoot or gas in the flue and no danger of explosions and for the furtherreason that in the class of industrial plants to Which my inventionparticularly relates compressed air is not always at hand While a steamsupply is invariably at hand.

Having thus described the preferred embodiment of my invention, What Iclaim as new and desire to secure by Letters Patent of the United Statesis 1. A gas flue having an opening therein, a removable means forclosing the opening, a jet pipe and a closure on the jet pipe, said jetpipe being adapted to enter the opening in the flue upon the removal ofthe first named closure and the closure on the jet pipe serving to closethe opening upon the insertion of the pipe therein.

2. A gas flue having an opening therein, a

casting set in the opening and having an orifice therein, a removableclosure adapted normally to seal the orifice in the casting, a jet pipeadapted to be projected through the oriiice in the casting when the saidclosure is removed, and a closure on `the jet pipe adapted to seal theorifice When the jet pipe is therein.

3. A gas flue having an opening therein, a movable closure for theopening, a jet pipe adapted to project through the opening upon removalof said closure and a spherical closure on the jet pipe therein servingto seal the opening When the et pipe is therein.

il. A gas flue having an opening therein, a removable closure for theopening7 a jet pipe adapted to be projected in the opening when theclosure is removed and a spherical closure on the jet pipe said closurehaving a tapering opening through which the jet pipe passes loosely. Y

5. A gas liuc having an opening therein,

i an oriced casing placed in the opening, a

removable closure for the orifice, a jet pipe adapted to project throughthe orifice When the closure is removed and the spherical closure on thejet pipe for the purpose speoied.

6. A device for cleaning gas flues comprising a jet pipe with aspherical closure loosely mounted thereon.

7. A device for cleaning gas lues comprising a jet pipe and a sphericalclosure having a tapering opening through Which the jet pipe passesloosely.

8. A gas Hue having an opening therein, a jet pipe adapted to projectthrough the opening and a spherical closure on the jet pipe serving toseal the opening When the jet pipe is therein.

9. A gas flue having an opening therein, a jet pipe adapted to beprojected in the opening and a spherical closure on the jet pipe saidclosure having a tapering opening through Which the jet pipe passesloosely.

10. A gas ilue having an opening therein, an oriflced casting placed inthe opening, a removable closure for the orifice, a jet pipe adapted toproject through the orifice When the closure is removed and thespherical closure on the jet for the purpose specied, said sphericalclosure having a tapering opening therein in Which the jet pipe isreceived.

11. A device for cleaning gas flues comprising a jet pipe adapted to beprojected through an opening in theflue and a closure for said openingmounted on the pipe.

In testimony whereof, I have signed my name to this specification in thepresence of two subscribing Witnesses.

WILLIAM B. CHAPMAN;

Witnesses:

ISAAC B. OWENS, E. I. MGLAUGHLIN.

